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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
  
  1. They don't notify winners by email.
  2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
  3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
  4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
  5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
  6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
  7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!

Fraud email example:

From: Leather Bootboy <nzboot4u@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 20:33:04 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: FINAL NOTICE from SHIRLEY LEWIS: REGARDING YOUR 2009 GOVERNMENT
GRANT APPLICATION


European Commission
Enterprise and Industry DG
Communication and Information Unit/R4
BREY 13/ 092
B - 1049 Brussels (Belgium)

RELEASED: 2009.

We bring to your notice the decision by the board of trustees of The
European Union and the UK Government to choose you as one of the final
recipients of a cash grant/donation for your own personal,
educational, and business development (SME funding).

To promote growth and creating new jobs in the European economy, we
are giving out a yearly donation to 10 lucky recipients who have been
selected from over 25,000 websites all over the globe, as funding/aid
from the European Union, European Commission, the United Nations and
the Uk Government in accordance with enabling acts of Parliament.

There's more than a thousand opportunities for grants out there,
waiting for deserving applicants. The UK government sets aside half a
trillion dollars for grants each year, so go right ahead and see if
you can get your share.

How To Apply

First, contact grant officer (England),

Name: JACK THOMAS
E-mail: jackthomas45@live.com

Secondly, it is important that you provide the following information
to reduce the burden that you may encounter during this process.

FULL NAME:
FULL ADDRESS:
COUNTRY:
TELEPHONE:

In addition to the above, include detailed information on what you
plan to do with your grant as soon as you receive the funds.

Remember to quote your identification numbers. Find your
identification numbers below:

BATCH NUMBER: UK-92647194
UNIQUE NUMBER: GOV47294

Note that these numbers fall within your location file.

Thank you and accept my congratulations once again!

SHIRLEY LEWIS
Information Officer and Coordinator

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam